Tiger Woods won’t be participating in the second golf major of the year, and that will take some of the media spotlight off the event. But for true golf fans and those who enjoy betting on the PGA Tour, the 2011 US Open at Congressional Country Club promises to be a compelling four days.

At Bodog’s online sportsbook, we’ve made Lee Westwood and Luke Donald the favorites to win, at 12/1 odds each. Phil Mickelson is next at 14/1, followed by Rory McIlroy at 16/1 and a number of golfers at 25/1, including Americans Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar. The defending champion, Graeme McDowell, is well back at 45/1 in light of his early-season struggles.

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We’ve seen strong betting support for a number of players, something that we’ve come to expect since the fall of Tiger Woods.

“With Tiger not being dominant, others stepped up,” McDowell said. “It was getting pretty tough to win major championships when he was playing the way he was.

“And I think the 21st Century golfer is a lot more ready for the PGA Tour, the younger players are so much more ready for the Tour when they come out. They play professional events, they know how to win, and they’re not scared anymore.”

Donald is a bit of a peculiar co-favorite. He’s never won a major and his last PGA Tour victory in stroke play came in 2006 when he won the Honda Classic. He’s also not very long off the tee, though he’s improved his accuracy.

What Donald does well is play the kind of controlled game that can win at the US Open, where there’s nothing wrong with par and big blow-ups need to be avoided. If you can get up and down, you can keep yourself in a position to win, and Donald is a scrambling specialist.

"His iron play has always been unbelievable, and I think that's one of the keys,” said McDowell. “I always knew he had a great wedge game and a great short game and a putting stroke to die for, so he's really got his game polished up and driving it a lot better, and he's really got the whole package now."

Oddly enough, the other co-favorite, Westwood, hasn’t won a major either, though he’s come close on a number of occasions.

If you’re thinking about putting a small wager on a relative long shot, we’ve seen decent support for Lucas Glover (66/1). The 2009 US Open champ obviously knows how to win on the big stage. He’s also already won this year, taking first at the Wells Fargo Championship in May.

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